Clothes Aid asks Brits to reclaim their wardrobes

Latest research by the UK’s leading clothing collection agency, Clothes Aid, reveals that as the average Brit has 29 items of clothing which is unwanted in their wardrobes at any one time.

Those 29 items of clothing take up approximately 50cm of space in a closet, and they weigh roughly 7.5kg.

As a UK population of 65 million people, that’s an estimated 485,000 tonnes of unwanted clothing and equivalent to an incredible 20,200 miles of closet space.

Staggeringly, that’s equivalent in weight to over 85,000 elephants, or more than 60,000 empty double decker buses or around 2,700 empty jumbo jets and is the same closet space as travelling three quarters of the way around the equator or from London – Sydney and back… all in clothing that we no longer wear.

In Scotland with a population of over 5 million people, there is an estimated 40,000 tonnes of unwanted clothes, the equivalent of over 7,000 African elephants or more than 5,000 empty double decker buses or around 220 empty jumbo jets.

That’s a heck of a lot of unused clothes that are sitting idle in wardrobes which could be put to good use by being donated to charitable causes instead. In our busy homes where spare space is increasingly at such a premium, it’s a lot of potential space freed up too.

So that’s why, this Recycle Week (September 12-18), Clothes Aid is calling for people up and down the country to have a jumbo clear-out to free up that space in their wardrobes by donating 29 items to their clothes collections service, and reclaim their space in their closets.

Clothes Aid is dropping free bags and flyers through homes across the country during all of September to promote Recycle Week and to encourage people to donate their 29 unused items (or more!).

All householders have to do is phone up the helpline number: 0207 288 8545 to arrange a collection, and a Clothes Aid van will come and collect the bagged up items free of charge when it is in your area.

Several UK charities including Macmillan Cancer Support, NSPCC, Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK, Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS), Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA), and Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice Liverpool will also benefit from the funds raised by the donation of these clothes.

Since 1996, Clothes Aid has raised over £9 million for our partner charities, and this is a figure they are always striving to increase. So reclaim that space taken up by those 29 items today, have that jumbo clear-out, put them in bags and get Clothes Aid to collect them from your doorstep.

Clothes Aid’s Business Manager, Michael Lomotey spoke about the latest figures and said: “It’s staggering to equate the weight of 29 unused clothes per person in this country to the weight of elephants and jumbo jets but I think the statistics speak for themselves. There are literally millions of unwanted clothes sitting unloved in people’s wardrobes across the UK, which we could really make good use of. By taking part in this year’s Recycle Week, and donating those 29 idle items to us, you’ll be raising vital funds for our fantastic partner charities as well as saving space in your wardrobes too.”

Jamie Perry, Campaign Manager for Love Your Clothes said: “Ensuring unwanted clothing is collected and disposed of through the correct channels is vital to reducing the impact that it has on the environment. Over 350,000 tonnes of clothing needlessly goes into landfill in the UK every year and the average UK householder has £1,400 worth of clothes they have not worn in the last 12 months. We urge people across the UK to sort out their wardrobes and donate some great quality items for the benefit of these life changing charitable causes.”

To take part in Recycle Week 2016 and book in a Clothes Aid collection, please call our helpline on 020 7288 8545 (open Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm) or for more information visit the Clothes Aid website at: www.clothesaid.co.uk